Strong American Schools
Strong American Schools, a project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, is a nonprofit organization supported by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that seeks to promote sound education policies for all Americans. Through its “ED in 08” information and nonpartisan advocacy campaign, it sought to inspire a debate about America’s schools and to make education a top priority in the 2008 presidential election.[1]
Steering committee
Roy Romer, the former governor of Colorado and a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, serves as chairman of the organization. Marc S. Lampkin, the deputy campaign manager for the 2000 Bush-Cheney presidential campaign, acts as the executive director.
| Strong American Schools / ED in 08 Steering Committee |
|---|
| Roy Romer
Chairman |
| Eli Broad
Founder, The Broad Foundations |
| Allan Golston
President of U.S. Program, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation |
| Janet Murguía
President and CEO, National Council of La Raza |
| Louis Gerstner
Former CEO of IBM |
| John Engler
Former Governor of Michigan |
| Marc Lampkin
Executive Director |
Campaign goal
The stated goal of the campaign is to achieve nationwide debate on education reform during which every presidential candidate addresses three priorities for improving education:[2]
- Agreeing on American education standards
- Providing effective teachers in every classroom
- Giving students more time and support for learning
Details
Strong American Schools ran its information campaign like a presidential campaign, but would not support or oppose any candidate for public office and would not take positions on legislation. The Broad and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations committed up to $60 million to fund the effort.[3] Strong American Schools and the ED in 08 campaign were the successors to the STAND UP campaign launched in 2006, and had a headquarters staff in Washington, DC, and field offices in Manchester, NH and in Des Moines, IA.
The campaign was shuttered in March 2009, once it had served its purpose.[4]
See also
References
- ^ Gates Foundation Announcement Archived May 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ ED in 08 About Us Archived May 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ NY TIMES - Billionaires Start $60 Million Schools Effort
- ^ Neal McCluskey: "Strong American Schools, We Hardly Knew Ye", 2 Oct 2008